The Tinker

Chapter 95 - Does Anybody?

The dinner was... weird.

The seating arrangement was somehow settled with Sara sitting directly across from Bakugou. As much as he was able, he tried to focus on the conversation between Y/N and her parents, but that proved difficult as Sara barely ate and resolved to give Bakugou a death glare the entire dinner.

Whatever his girlfriend was talking about was lost on him at this point. What was this girl's deal? They hadn't spoken a word to each other and yet he could feel the fire of her angry gaze even while looking away. It was getting annoying fast.

"Have you started your new job yet? What's it like?" Milo asked.

"The job starts in a few months," Y/N said. "I'm going to be an engineer."

That was enough to snap Sara out of her dedication. "What? You're not doing hero work anymore?"

Bakugou tried to figure out what Sara's expression was. It seemed to be excitement.

"Not directly. I'm not doing field work anymore, but I'll be engineering for a hero agency–"

"Great. More fucking hero agencies," Sara muttered with disgust. "Can't you engineer somewhere else?"

Katsuki decided not to bring up that it was his agency, instead opting for shoveling more food into his mouth.

"Can you knock it off? It's a good job," Y/N snapped. "At least I'm not out there anymore."

Sara scoffed. "But you're still working for them. Whose agency is it, anyway?"

Fuck, Bakugou thought. This was getting dicey.

Y/N was just as apprehensive as her boyfriend about giving away details; but the information was going to come out at some point, and she'd rather it be her own choice instead of the media's. After a deep breath, she opened her mouth to confess, but Bakugou spoke before she got the chance.

"Mine," He said. He crossed his arms across his chest, almost as an unspoken dare for her to challenge him.

There was a moment of terrible silence as Sara processed what he said, staring directly at him and refusing to break his gaze, even as he glared back. "You're kidding."

"Sara, enough," Milo warned, but his reasoning fell on deaf ears.

"You're dating another hero?" Sara spat. "A fucking entrepreneur hero, at that. Are you stupid?"

Rachel slammed her fork down. "Sara!"

"He's not an entrepreneur. The agency already has hundreds of investors. He's one of the strongest up-and-coming heroes in Japan, and he–"

Bakugou wanted time to take in the compliment from Y/N, but Sara interrupted again. "How many times am I gonna have to watch you break your fucking heart because of some overconfident hero, Y/N? You're so much better than this! You deserve–"

"I deserve to be able to make my own choices for once," Y/N said firmly. "Stop. Please."

Katsuki was pretty sure he'd never been this uncomfortable before. There was too much history here that he didn't understand and anything he wanted to say would only make it worse.

"I thought you liked hero work," Rachel said softly. "Did you... feel forced?"

"The pay was huge, most people would kill to have the opportunities I did. And we... we needed the money. They said my quirk was good enough that I could make millions if I kept working, so of course I stayed."

Bakugou uncrossed his arms and turned to Y/N. Did she really only want to excel in hero work for the money? Had it always been that way? It couldn't have been... right?

Y/N had seemed elated when she'd gotten her quirk back. Was it really just excitement that she could have a steady income again?

"Do you enjoy hero work for any reason besides the paycheck?" Milo questioned. His tone was laced with concern. Everyone turned to look at Y/N.

"Does anybody?"

Bakugou felt like he was going to throw up.

"Why the hell are you a hero then?" Sara demanded. "You don't even enjoy it, and look what happened to you!"

"I told you, dumbass, for the money! No one in this house has seen that kind of cash before. Have you seen how rich American heroes are? I have a flashy quirk, and I know how to use it. It was a no brainer."

It was Bakugou's turn to drop his fork. "You don't like hero work."

"Are you kidding? Hero work is fucking dangerous. Look at my face, Kat. You think I wanted this shit?" She jabbed a finger at the jagged scar across her face.

More silence. Y/N's chest was rising and falling rapidly from her yelling as she eyed her boyfriend. She had expected him to agree. She thought he would say something along the lines of, 'Yeah, we do it for the money,' but instead she was met with confusion.

Bakugou's expression was one of heartbreak. As if he was sad for her.

When Y/N turned to look at her family, their faces matched. Even Sara's mouth had dropped open a bit in shock at her words. "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"

All his life, Bakugou had seen nearly every kid around him aspiring to be a hero, but so often their quirks didn't make the cut. It had never even occurred to him that there was a different side of the same coin– kids who had perfect quirks and were recruited without wanting to do it. Because it was an easy invitation to a life of money and luxury.

And apparently, that was Y/N.

Rachel, Y/N's mom, looked as if she was fighting back tears. "You... you were recruited at sixteen, Y/N. Did you really only do it for us?" Her voice raised and morphed into that of frustration and confusion. "Your dad and I would've been just fine! We thought we were supporting your dreams!"

"You were so excited when Hawks scouted you," Milo added in desperation.

Y/N was looking at her plate now, trying her best to process what was happening. "Of course I was. He's got one of the biggest hero agencies in the world."

Rachel's face was in her hands now. Bakugou couldn't tell if she was crying or frustrated.

"It doesn't matter now," Y/N said quietly. "I'm done with hero work anyways. I decided I would stick with engineering after..." She was going to say 'after the injury', but didn't want to see her mother cry even harder. Her heart was racing a million miles a minute and her food suddenly seemed very unappetizing.

Y/N stood from her chair. "I'm tired. We'll come back tomorrow morning so I can fix the radiator."

Bakugou was about to ask how she knew the radiator was broken, then heard the small thumping within the walls as the heater above them stuttered out warm air. Y/N had already grabbed her bag and left the apartment by the time Bakugou looked up.

They weren't looking at him, but Bakugou stood up to grab his things. He slipped his coat on and turned to see if they had moved. They hadn't.

He wanted to say something to them, but what could he say that wouldn't make it worse? A bombshell of terrible information had just been dropped on this family– everyone in the room was trying to process what they'd just learned.

Y/N had never wanted that life, but had done it for them. How much of it was their fault?

Katsuki paused before leaving out the open door. "I'll talk to her," He said quietly, then left and closed the door behind him.